Britain's top amateur ballroom dancers suspect that one of their rivals has
tipped off immigration officials with false information to prevent them
defending their national title.

Ballroom dancing has traditionally been seen as the epitome of refinement, elegance and chivalrous etiquette.

But the normally decorous world has been shaken by rumours that rivalry on the dancefloor has spilt over into an underhand attempt to sabotage the reigning British amateur champions’ hopes of defending their title

Kyle Taylor’s Russian dance partner, Polina Shklyaeva, has been refused a UK visa ahead of crucial upcoming competitions after immigration officials apparently received false information that she had been working illegally in Britain.

Mr Taylor, 22, and Miss Shklyaeva, 20, insist that she has done nothing wrong and suspect that one of their opponents maliciously tipped off the Home Office in order to scupper their chances of retaining their crown.

The young couple have only been performing together since February 2011 but are considered the best British amateur dancers of recent times.

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They have already won the British and UK amateur ballroom titles, and are current world amateur champions in a combined Latin and ballroom category known as 10 Dance.

In the past Miss Shklyaeva, a university student in Moscow, has been granted about ten British sports visitor visas, which allow her to compete in tournaments but not seek employment in the UK.

She was therefore shocked when her application for a new visa was rejected earlier this month, in part on the grounds that she had been working as a dance coach in Britain, something she strongly denies.

Mr Taylor, from Liverpool, said: “I think that they have been tipped off and I think it’s quite obvious that a rival has done it, although there’s never going to be 100 per cent proof.

“But the only thing we are concerned about is getting her back into the country.”

The first sign that something was wrong came two days after the couple took two titles at the UK Closed Amateur Championships in Bournemouth in July.

Mr Taylor said he was “absolutely gobsmacked” to receive a call from professional dance instructor Warren Bullock, who said immigration officials had phoned to check whether Miss Shklyaeva was working for him. He confirmed she was not and never had done.

The Russian dancer was then questioned at Heathrow Airport for 45 minutes last month while changing aircraft to catch a flight back to Moscow after competing in Los Angeles.

If she cannot get a UK visa, she and Mr Taylor will be unable to defend their British national title in Blackpool in November.

Mr Taylor said: “The thing that makes our situation so ludicrous is that we haven’t really had many world champions in recent years.

“When we won the world 10 Dance championships in January, that was the first time a British couple had won it in 31 years.

“We are one of the best couples ever in England in recent times. For us not to be able to compete in England is just insane.”

Miss Shklyaeva said the visa problem had already hit their extensive training for future competitions, and stressed that she had no need to work in Britain because she is licensed to teach dance in Moscow.

“People can’t understand that it’s not always about the money you are getting. It’s sport, you compete because you want to win, you want to be the best. You want to prove what you can do. They don’t realise that not everyone in this world is greedy,” she said.

Mr Bullock, who runs the Zig Zag Dance Factory studios in the West Midlands and has trained some of the professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing, said ballroom dancing was very competitive and success in tournaments could lead to lucrative careers.

He said: “Some people can be quite driven to do extreme things, as with any sport or anything where prizes and money are involved. But I’ve never heard of anything like this before.

“If they weren’t so successful, this may well not have been raised.”

Mr Bullock added: “They are really the only couple in England at the moment who can challenge the international couples on a world level.

“It would be an absolute travesty if they stopped Polina coming back to the UK. It would absolutely destroy British chances on the world stage.”

A Home Office spokesman declined to comment on the specific case, but said: “All visa applications are considered on their own individual merits, and in line with the immigration rules.”